2025 End of Year Wrap Up

Hi guys,

I know it has been a while since I last posted, and I’m sorry about that. I kind of disappeared, but only because I was busy doing the most important thing, which was reading. A lot.

I’m heading into 2026 feeling genuinely excited to post more regularly, be more interactive, and just talk about books in a way that feels fun again. But before we move forward, let’s wrap up 2025 because it was a really solid reading year.

The Stats

Let’s start with the numbers, because I love them.

In 2025, I read 139 books, even though my goal was 120, so I am very happy with that. My average rating for the year came out to 3.7 stars.

According to Fable, I was classified as a Daring Dreamer, someone who reads historical tales of science, mystery, and transformation, which honestly makes a lot of sense for me.

Genre-wise, this year was all over the place in the best way. I read across 24 different genres, including romance, fantasy, young adult, literary fiction, science fiction, and women’s fiction.

My top three authors of the year were:

• Emily Henry

• Brandon Sanderson

• Martha Wells

And honestly, I could not be happier with that lineup.

Top Five Books of 2025 🌟

While choosing a top five can sometimes be hard, this year it really was not. Some books just stood out immediately and never left my mind.

The Wolf Den Series by Elodie Harper

This series completely owned me. The atmosphere, the characters, the emotional depth, everything worked. It is rare for an entire series to hit this hard for me, but this one truly did.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson

Every single year I end up loving at least one Brandon Sanderson book, and 2025 was no different. This book was soft, imaginative, emotional, and quietly beautiful in a way I did not expect.

Manacled by SenLinYu

Yes, it is a fanfiction. Yes, I am still including it. This was by far one of my favorite reading experiences of the year. It completely destroyed me emotionally and then stayed with me long after I finished it.

The Will of the Many by James Islington

This book had me hooked from the start. The world building, the tension, and the pacing were all incredible, and I was fully invested the entire time.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

This book felt so deeply human. It was quiet, emotional, and surprisingly powerful, and it stayed with me long after I turned the last page.

Special Mention: Exit Strategy by Martha Wells, which is book three in The Murderbot Diaries. This was one of my favourite entries in the series as a whole, but since it is a novella, I am keeping it as a special mention instead of putting it in the top five.

Bottom Five Books of 2025 😬

These are the books I genuinely did not connect with at all, and in some cases actively disliked.

The Postcard Killers by James Patterson and Liza Marklund

This book was extremely, extremely badly written. It honestly felt like it suffered from that long standing idea that James Patterson does not actually write his own books, or at least not fully. The execution was poor, the writing felt lazy, and nothing about it worked for me.

Happily Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez

This was such a disappointing read. The story felt forced, the romance was barely there, and I did not enjoy the banter at all. Nothing about this book felt natural to me.

Wildfire by Hannah Grace

At this point, I am starting to feel like a lot of popular romance and thriller books are just massively overhyped. When books in these genres are good, they are really good, but when they are bad, they are awful. This one firmly fell into the latter category for me.

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

This is another book I simply did not connect with, and I genuinely do not understand the hype surrounding it.

When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker

This book was such a letdown. It felt like every fantasy trope imaginable was thrown together just for the sake of it, and then there were dragons. None of it felt earned or original, and I was disappointed throughout.

The Most Disappointing Reads of 2025 💔

Not bad books, just books I had hyped up way too much in my head.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab

I love almost everything V. E. Schwab has written, which made this one especially disappointing. I went in with very high expectations and came out feeling let down.

The Dreamland Billionaires Series by Lauren Asher

All three books. I genuinely feel pity for myself for reading them. I bought all three because they were so pretty and because of the hype, and it was just an awful reading experience from start to finish.

Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang

I can see why people like this book, and I understand why it resonates with some readers, but I personally was very disappointed. I was so convinced this was going to be a five star read for me, and instead it completely fell flat.

Katabasis by R. F. Kuang

I expected so much from this book, and unfortunately it just did not live up to that expectation at all.

The Night and the Moth by Rachel Gillig

This one hurts because I loved One Dark Window. While I did not hate this book immediately, the more I think about it, the worse it gets for me. Looking back, I was genuinely disappointed.

Final Thoughts ✨

139 books. 24 genres. A reading goal absolutely crushed.

2025 reminded me why I love reading so much, not just for the favorites, but for the strong opinions, the disappointments, and the books that stay in your head long after you finish them.

I am really excited for 2026 and for being more present here again. Thank you for sticking around, and here is to another year of great reads, questionable purchases, and very strong opinions. 💫